Tag Archives: spring mountains

Great news! School’s — out — for — summer!! Yes, I’m totally singing that 80’s hit in my head right now. No, you may not laugh at me. Because you know you’re singing it in your head now too. Oh how I deeply love summer vacation. Life is good, my friends.

One might imagine my first act of summer vacay would be to sit around and get my relax on. But not this girl. Instead, I hiked to the highest peak in Southern Nevada! On Sunday, I checked Charleston Peak off my hiking wish list. I’m pretty proud. The route we followed was just shy of 18 miles, with an elevation gain of over 4,000 feet. The first 4 miles were the worst, with the majority of the elevation gain being in the wicked switchbacks at the start. But after that it was smooth sailing (okay, not quite smooth — but in hindsight, I can make that claim).

If you’re interested in mild torture to achieve your life’s goal of seeing the best view of Pahrump there possibly is, this is the hike for you. (If you’re not from the area, I assure you, that statement is pretty damn funny.) If you like a good challenge and peak bagging is your thing, this is also the hike for you. And if you’re not interested in any of that, I still highly recommend you follow the route just past the halfway point. There are some lovely mountain meadows that were calling out for the recreation of a certain Twilight scene and a damn good picnic. Had I the time, I would have been happy lazing amongst those wildflowers for a few hours. Of course, I was a man on a mission (or woman, as it would be), thus there was no time for dilly-dallying.

I reached the peak in time for lunch in the bunker (there’s a small bunker dug out at the peak, surrounded by rock walls, that protects you from the wind). The bunker was my life saver. It was pretty damn windy up there, and the wind made me cold. But in the bunker — it was all sunshine and lollipops.

Want to take a peak at the hike (and some obviously professional singing and dancing)? Take a look at my Charleston Peak video:

Heather Rae

Photographer. Traveler. Storyteller. On the adventure of a lifetime. I'm a fan of running in mud, long conversations in little cafes, climbing mountains, watching waves. What's In Search of Squid? Quite simply, my quest to have it all.

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